Congressional Record—Senate S1836
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
S1836 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 15, 2017 We have families who have lost abso- ment—first responders from all over in a period of morning business, with lutely everything. the State, volunteer and career fire- Senators permitted to speak therein We have volunteer firefighters across fighters who worked very long and dif- for up to 10 minutes each. much of this area who would literally ficult hours. USDA and FEMA were The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without be fighting the fire in one county in also on site. I thank Harper County Ex- objection, it is so ordered. one area and hear on the radio about tension; all the emergency manage- f how a fire had broken out in another ment folks from Beaver, Harper, and county on a road right near their own Woodward Counties; all the folks who SUNSHINE WEEK home, and literally volunteer fire- have donated, places like Love’s Travel Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, this fighters fighting one fire could hear on Stops that have donated so much to be week is Sunshine Week, an annual na- the radio about the destruction of their able to move things there; the United tionwide celebration of the good that home at a different fire. Way; Cleanline Energy and their dona- comes from peeling back the curtains In different places, the volunteer tions; and untold numbers of civic or- on government. Sunshine Week coin- firefighters and those who were gath- ganizations and churches from around cides with the National Freedom of In- ered, both career and volunteers, would that community. formation Day and President James see a raging fire at the home of their As I looked at many of those folks in Madison’s birthday, both of which neighbor, of people they knew. In west- the area last week and met with some occur on March 16. ern Oklahoma, you know your neigh- leaders and pastors in the area, I re- James Madison understood the value bors in that area. You know the folks minded the folks that the devastation of an informed citizenry as a necessary in the county. They would head out to they face is not something that will be check against those in power. We a home as the fire was rushing at them recovered from quickly. Springtime shouldn’t forget his call for the people and try to fight it off, try to cut a fire will come soon, and the area that is to ‘‘arm themselves with the power line to be able to stop it. Eventually, just black earth right now will spring which knowledge gives.’’ the fire would get so close, they would to life with green grass again in the More recently in our Nation’s his- weeks ahead. But the loss of those literally take their fire equipment and tory, Justice Brandeis declared, ‘‘sun- fence lines, the loss of thousands of park the equipment between the fire light is said to be the best of disinfect- animals, the loss of homes, the loss of and the home and spray down their ants.’’ structures, will take a very long time equipment in hopes that the fire would These sentiments hold true to this for the folks—the farmers and ranchers jump over the house as the firefighters day. A government that operates in who don’t live on a high profit margin. darkness—and a public that’s kept in just huddled behind their own equip- I have continued to encourage the the dark—sows the seeds of waste, ment hoping the fire didn’t come to pastors and churches in that area to fraud, and abuse. them. They saved several homes by walk alongside some families who will In the face of secrecy and obstruc- using that extreme method. have a hard time recovering from this Neighbors took their own farm equip- for a long time. I have encouraged our tion, the public has a vital weapon: the ment and their own tractors and cre- Oklahoma agencies and our Federal Freedom of Information Act, FOIA. ated fire lines to be able to protect agencies to do what we can to be able Over 50 years ago, President Lyndon their neighbors’ homes. to step in with repairing fence lines Johnson signed FOIA into law, estab- These small community firefighters and helping them recover from a very lishing the public’s judicially enforce- fought fires for hours and hours. They traumatic event. able right to government information. saved a lot of lives, and they saved a My wife and I stood with a rancher Before FOIA, the people had to jus- lot of structures. who talked about going out into the tify their need for information to the I can’t even begin to tell you the pain field after the fire. His home was com- government, but after FOIA, the gov- of walking through that area, what has pletely destroyed. As he traveled out to ernment has to justify its refusal to re- been described by many as walking the field around him checking on his lease information to the public. FOIA’s across a moonscape of destruction cattle, he found dead cattle but also enactment marked a crucial step to- where there is literally nothing left. found cattle with their faces com- ward a government more accountable What have we seen in that? I will pletely burned, blinded, with coyotes to the people. state that what we have seen is a tena- chasing them down. He said all he No doubt, FOIA manifests Congress’s cious spirit from people who survived could do was stand there in the field recognition of the need to carefully an ice storm, were without power for and cry. These are going to be long balance the public’s right to know and weeks in many areas, and then had a days. the government’s interest in protecting wildfire come right behind it and de- I am grateful that there are neigh- certain information from disclosure, stroy what was left. Over 20,000 bales of bors taking care of neighbors. I am but practice and history demonstrates hay have already been donated from proud of the people of Oklahoma this balance has all too often been tilt- farmers all over Oklahoma who are watching out for each other. As we ed away from transparency. trying to feed the cattle that are still walk through this, God willing, we will Many in government have continued left—20,000 bales. Understand the ex- continue to be able to hug and take to find ways to undermine citizens’ pense of 20,000 bales of hay being do- care of our neighbors in the days right to know under FOIA. Trans- nated but also understand the efforts of ahead. parency should be the norm, not the all the truckdrivers who loaded up I want to tell this Senate and the exception; yet, when it comes to FOIA their vehicles and personally paid the people of the United States that this requests, we have continued to see a gas money and the travel expenses to was a wildfire as big as the State of government culture of delay, deny, and be able to deliver that hay over hun- Rhode Island, and many people haven’t defend. When this happens, FOIA’s ef- dreds of miles to those folks. Often- even heard of it. But I can assure all of fectiveness is undermined and the pub- times, the travel of that truckdriver you that the folks in Oklahoma have lic becomes even more skeptical of its and the gas required are more expen- experienced it, and we will walk government. sive than the hay that is in the back of through it together as a Nation. We have seen this in one way or an- it, and they are delivering as much as With that, Mr. President, I yield other under every administration, both they possibly can. back. Republican and Democratic, since I have to thank the folks from the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- FOIA’s enactment, but the trend to- ator from Oklahoma. Farm Bureau; the Oklahoma Cattle- ward secrecy and obstruction in recent men’s Association; Western Equip- f years should alarm all of us. ment; Oklahoma Farm Credit; the Red LEGISLATIVE SESSION According to a March 14 Associated Cross of Oklahoma; the Salvation Press report, ‘‘The Obama administra- Army; the Oklahoma Department of tion in its final year in office spent a Agriculture; the Oklahoma Forestry MORNING BUSINESS record $36.2 million on legal costs de- Service; Southern Baptist Disaster Re- Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask fending its refusal to turn over federal lief; Oklahoma emergency manage- unanimous consent that the Senate be records under [FOIA.]’’ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Mar 16, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G15MR6.051 S15MRPT1 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with SENATE March 15, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1837 In 2016, the Obama administration Before President Trump took office, I fields. His work took him to Texas, set records for ‘‘outright denial of ac- stood on this floor and urged him to re- Louisiana, North Dakota, Wyoming, cess to files, refusing to quickly con- verse the secrecy and obstruction that Ireland, and Africa before he returned sider requests described as especially defined the Obama administration’s to San Luis permanently in 1986. newsworthy, and forcing people to pay FOIA track record. Today I reiterate Working with his father on the fam- for records who had asked the govern- that call. ily ranch, Mr.